"Instinctively, she then very delicately touched the lady's belly, realizing it was too hard and extremely cold," said the deputy director of Colombia's police anti-narcotics section, Colonel Esteban Arias Melo.

After performing a body search, the police found two sealed bags stashed inside the latex belly, which contained 5l pounds of cocaine. Colombian police said the drugs had a street value of approximately $60,000.

Colombian authorities say Ritchie, who allegedly said she was seven months pregnant, faces up to eight years in prison on drug-related charges.